


Staying Awake

by myblueworld



Category: Football RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-09-16 17:46:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9283085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myblueworld/pseuds/myblueworld
Summary: It's past midnight and Raheem keeps Leroy awake.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a Tumblr request.  
> Prompt: "Who keeps the other one awake at 3 AM?"

Leroy rolls his eyes when he sees the picture and name that flash on his phone. He picks it up anyway.

“Leroy, my man! How are you, bro'!”

Leroy lets out a small groan. “Raheem, seriously, you just left my place less than 2 hours ago. It’s not like something, _anything_ , can happen to me within that two hours.”

Raheem laughs. “Well, you know, just checking out on my bro’. “

Leroy can have a mental image of Raheem, winking at him with a wide grin on his face.

“I am well, thank you very much! Just enjoying the quiet time that I finally have after having someone roaming around in my place for hours,” Leroy says. He shifts a little, to have a more comfortable laying position on the couch.

Raheem laughs cheerfully. “Oh, come on! You said that just because you lost!”

Leroy groans again. “It wasn’t a fair game! You cheated!”

“No, I didn’t, Leroy,” Raheem sounds amused. “Relax, it’s just a FIFA game. You can show what you have on the pitch, in a real game.”

Something stings a little in Leroy’s chest. 

“Yeah. If I even have the chance to play a real game.” Leroy says, can’t hide a little bitterness there.

“Hey, hey…”

It’s weird. To hear how quick Raheem’s voice turns into a serious one. 

“Don’t say that! You will have the time. I know you will. The gaffer will really see how good you are!”

Leroy can’t help but to have a small smile on his lips. But he shakes his head a little as he talks on the phone. “I don’t know, Raheem.”

“Leroy, stop right there. I don’t want you to doubt yourself anymore. You are an awesome player, Leroy. We know that. _I_ know that. I believe in you.” Raheem says, a bit more insistent than before. His voice is just so full with certainty, Leroy can only believe in what he said.

Leroy stays quiet for a while, chewing his lower lip. Then he nods.

“Okay,” he says. “Okay.”

“Now that’s my bro’!” Raheem’s voice instantly turns to be the cheerful one again. The one that Leroy knows comes in line with that beaming smile that Raheem often has in trainings.

“So, listen, on my way back from your place, I stopped by in this store. And you won’t believe what I saw there.”

“Oh yeah?” Leroy puts an arm over his forehead.

Raheem starts telling him about... whatever it was that he saw. Leroy doesn’t really care, actually. He just wants to hear Raheem's voice, even only over the phone. He just wants Raheem to keep on talking. Whatever it is that he is talking about, as long as it is Raheem that’s talking to him, Leroy is fine with that.

 

*******

 

When Leroy ends the call, the digital number at the top corner of the screen tells him that it’s already almost half an hour past midnight. So they have been talking for forty five minutes. Leroy sighs, and puts his phone on the coffee table. Suddenly he realizes that he is so sleepy. So sleepy that instead making a (very) short walk to the bedroom, he’ll just sleep here in the couch. Maybe for an hour, and hopefully after that, he’ll wake up and have enough energy to make himself go to the bedroom. If he’s not…well, the couch is where he sleeps for the rest of the night. 

*******

Leroy doesn’t know how long he has been sleeping, but the sound from his phone is the one that wakes him up. With his eyes still half-closed, he groans and picks his phone up. He slides his finger on the phone. His eyes half-closed, he doesn't even bother to see who's calling him.

“Hello?” he says with hazy voice, hasn't completely wakes up yet.

“Leroy! Hi! Are you sleeping now?”

Leroy groans and rubs his eyes.

“No, Raheem. I am building a spaceship to Mars so I can get away from you.” Leroy answers sarcastically.

“Ouch. I’m hurt.” Raheem says. “What would you do without me in Mars, anyway? You’ll get bored easily.”

Leroy chooses not to respond to that. He pulls the phone from his ear to see the time on the screen. He has to blink a few times before his eyes can come to focus and read the small numbers. It’s barely ten minutes past two. Groaning again, Leroy puts his phone back to his ear.

“Raheem, what do you want?”

“Bro, turn on the TV now!”

“Huh?” Leroy forces himself to sit up. “Why should I?” he asks, but his hand reaches out for the remote control anyway.

“The amazing Captain Jack Sparrow is on right now!”

Leroy hates himself for not being able to say no to Raheem. Instead of ending the call like someone with a rational mind should do, he turns on the TV and clicks on the button until he finds the channel.

“Okay. So?”

“Maaannn… This is the first one from all those movies, right? It’s my favorite!”

“Really? I like the third one better.”

“What? No no no. That one is like, the anti-climax!”

And just like that, they spent almost an hour just talking about the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, sometimes commenting on what is on the screen. Leroy has never imagined before that he would do this kind of thing. Yet, here he is, watching the same movie with Raheem even though they’re not in the same place. And he’s surprised to realize that he enjoys it.

After promising Raheem that they will watch the second movie in Raheem’s place tomorrow ( _or technically, today_ ) after training, Leroy ends the call. It’s almost 3 AM when Leroy puts his phone down, and quickly falls asleep on the couch.

 

*******

“Not having enough rest, kid?”

Leroy yawns again and bows down to tie the laces of his boots.

“Yeah, kind of,” he mumbles to answer Aleks’ question. “I slept at 3 last night.”

“Oh?”

Leroy glances a little at the Serbian, who has a small teasing smile on his lips. He hums to answer and continues tying the lace of his other boots.

“What was it that kept you awake?” Aleks asks.

Before Leroy can really process what Aleks just asked him (the lack of sleep seems to make his brain work a bit slower than usual), Aleks already asks him another question.

“Or should it be, _who_  was it?”

Gasping a little, Leroy turns his head to look at Aleks. Seeing the way Aleks looks at him with amusement in his eyes and his lips, Leroy quickly bows his head again.

“Nobody…” he mumbles again as he unties the lace. He can feel a warm rush all over his face.

Aleks lets out a loud laugh. He pats Leroy’s shoulder a little and stands up.

“Must be nice, huh? Talking with someone that makes you don’t realize the time?”

Thankfully, Aleks is kind enough not to linger there and waits for Leroy to answer him. He walks away, leaving Leroy who's still tring to focus on tying his laces again.

“Leroy! Good morning, bro!”

Leroy lifts his head up, finding Raheem who has that beaming, bright smile on his lips.

“Ready for the movie marathon tonight, bro?”

Leroy can’t help himself but to smile. “Yeah. Make sure you have enough popcorn in your place.”

Raheem chuckles, and leans a little to whisper at Leroy. “Sure. Just make sure that the gaffer won’t know about it, okay?”

As he sits next to Raheem, who starts talking about something while putting on his boots, he’s thinking about what Aleks just said to him.

Aleks is right, actually.

It is nice. To be with someone whom he can hang out with, without even realizing how time has passed by.

 


End file.
